Improvement in hay-knives



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRISON R. BROWN, OF ROCHELLE, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN HAY-KNIVES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 149,694, dated March 31, 1874; application filed February 28, 1874.

To all whom it may concern Be it kn'ownthat I, HARRISON R. BROWN, of Rochelle, in the county of Ogle and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hay-Knives, of which the following is a specification:

My invention consists in providing the knifehandle with a tube or sleeve, to which a swinging reversible stirrup is pivoted, as hereinafter described.

I11 the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 represents a side view of a hay-knife constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is an edge view of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

A is the handle, which is attached to the blade B by means of the socket-piece O. D is a metallic tube, which is slipped onto the handle, having one or more holes in two opposite sides for attaching the stirrup E, as seen in the drawing. This stirrup is in the form of an unwelded link. The unwelded ends of the stirrup enter the holes in the tube. This link is so attached and is of such a length that it -1nay be readily turned over the end of the handle, so as to be used for pressing the knife with the foot on either side of the blade, according to the direction in which it is to be driven. 7

It will be noticed that the face of the knife is not parallel with the handle, but is placed a little angling. This allows the knife to maintain a vertical position, while the handle leans toward the operator, thus enabling the operator to leave a perpendicular wall as he cuts downward.

The handle is made of wood, and to attach the stirrup in a durable manner, I put on the metallic tube D,which is rigidly fastened to the handle 0.

The blade is triangular in form. The two sides F F of the triangle are smooth cuttingedges, the point being the intersection of these cutting-edges, as seen at G. The blade is made of thin plate-steel, and the socket-piece O is riveted thereto, as seen in the drawing.

The hay-knife is durable, and is worked with great ease, and is not expensive.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Paten't A hay-knife constructed as shown and describedtha-t is, having a blade with smooth cutting-edges, standing at an angle to the handle, and having a reversible stirrup attached by means of a tube surrounding the handle, substantially as shown.

HARRISON R. BROWN.

WVitnesses A. S. HOADLEY, GEARY L. FULLERTON. 

